How Much is that Mutant in the Window?
by Sarge1
Summary: A group of bounty hunters have been capturing new mutants and selling them to the highest bidder. Now it’s up to Mutant X to stop them, but can they do it without getting captured themselves? SHAl/BREN! Please R/R!!!
1. No, I can't tell her

Title: How Much is that Mutant in the Window?

Author: Sarge

E-Mail: Shalimarfox2@aol.com

Rating: PG-13

Content Warning: None

Pairing: Shal/Bren(ALL THE WAY!!)

Summary: A group of bounty hunters have been capturing new mutants and selling them to the highest bidder. Now it's up to Mutant X to stop them, but can they do it without getting captured themselves?

Disclaimer: They're not mine.(Dangit!!) 

Author's Notes: It has taken me forever to think of a title for this story so I hope you like it! PLEASE REVIEW!!!

   MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX

 **THIS IS A SEQUEL TO "When Holograms Attack". I SUGGEST YOU READ THAT FIRST!!!!!**

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   MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX

   It had been a week since the incident with the hologram had occurred. Since then, Adam had perfected the program, but neither Shalimar nor Brennan would even go near the dojo. After hearing the story of what happened, Jesse and Emma thought it was funny that the two wouldn't use the dojo to practice, but they said nothing.

   Shalimar was still feeling the after effects of the injuries she had procured during her run in with the crazed hologram. In fact, she was beginning to think that maybe Brennan hadn't healed her ribs all the way because they were still hurting like hell. Of course, she'd never tell anyone that.

   Then there was Brennan. Ever since Shalimar had said that she went for guys like him, he couldn't stop thinking about her. It didn't take long for him to realize that he had feelings for her…very strong feelings. Yet, he didn't know how to act on them. Should he tell Shalimar how he felt or try to forget about it? He didn't know. The only thing he did know was that if he didn't decide something soon, he was going to go crazy.

   Walking into the rec. room, he spotted Shalimar fast asleep on the couch in front of the television. Smiling, he quietly sat down in one of the chairs and after opening one of his favorite poetry books, he began to read. Although, every so often, he would look up and just watch as Shalimar slept. _She is so beautiful, he thought to himself as he let out a soft sigh. __Why can't I just tell her how I feel? All I have to do is say, 'Shalimar, I think I'm in love with you…No wait, I know I'm in love with you.' Brennan shook his head. __No, that wouldn't work. I mean, what if she doesn't love me? All she said was that she went for guys **like me, but not ****me. It would be so embarrassing, if not heart breaking, if I told her and she didn't feel the same way. Then I would end up acting all weird around her. No, I can't tell her. **_

   Just then, he noticed that he had stopped reading altogether and he was just staring at Shalimar. Sighing, he shook his head again and looked back down at his book.

   Suddenly, Adam's voice came over their comlinks, saying, "Brennan, Shalimar, could you please come to the lab."

   Brennan couldn't help but allow himself involuntarily shudder considering the last time they had been called to the lab, Adam had been mad at them. Looking over at Shalimar, he noticed that she hadn't woken up. He immediately got up and walked over to the couch. Kneeling beside it, he gently brushed an errant strand of blonde hair from Shalimar face and then softly said, "Shal, wake up."

   Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she looked up at Brennan. "Hey Brennan," she greeted in a sleepy voice as she gave him a small smile. "What's up?"

   Brennan took a moment to fight the desperate urge to kiss her before replying, "Adam called us to the lab."

   "Oh, I must not have heard him," she said as she began to sit up. Just then, she winced and grabbed her ribs.

   Concerned filled Brennan as he asked, "Shal, are you ok?"

   Sitting all the way up, she nodded. "Yeah, my ribs are still a little sore from our fight with the hologram, but I'll be fine."

   "Are you sure? I mean, I would have thought that they would be fine by now. I don't think you should still be feeling pain. Maybe you should have Adam check them out. I mean, maybe I didn't heal them correctly or something. You should really—," he said in a rush before Shalimar stopped him by putting her hand to his lips.

   "I'll be fine, Brennan," she assured him with a grin. "Now, we better get to the lab."

   Brennan nodded as he stood up and extended his hand down to Shalimar. Once she had taken it, he helped her stand and then they both walked out of the room.

   Making their way to the lab, they both saw that the other three members on Mutant X were already there.

   "Nice of you to join us," Adam quipped as a smirk lit up his face.

   "Sorry, it was my fault," Shalimar replied. "I fell asleep in the rec. room and didn't hear when you called for us."

   "So much for that feral sense of hearing, huh?" Jesse joked.

   Shalimar shot him an 'I dare you to say that again because if you do, I'll show you just how feral I really am' look. 

   Jesse immediately shut his mouth.

   "Anyway," Adam began. "The reason I called you all here is because there have been reports from the streets that a rouge group of people have been capturing new mutants and have been selling them to the highest bidder…who has, consequently, been mainly Gabriel Ashlocke. They have sold a few to some other people, but are main concern right now is Ashlocke. Now, I want you all to go out there and see if you can figure anything out. If you do, I want you to report back here. I don't want you going out there trying to be heroes. All we want right now is information. When we have it, we'll figure out a way to deal with it. Alright everyone?"

   The four younger members of Mutant X nodded.

   "Good. I'll see you all back here later," Adam said as he watched them all leave the lab.

TO BE CONTINUED!!!

(A/N: Hey folks! Sorry it's taken me forever to get a new story up!! I've officially had the worse writer's block imaginable!! I REALLY hope you like this story. I've had the idea for a while, but I just couldn't seem to write it. Tell me where you'd like this story to go! PLEASE REVIEW!!)


	2. Confessions

Title: How Much is that Mutant in the Window?

Author: Sarge

E-Mail: Shalimarfox2@aol.com

**MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX **

After all four of them were in the Double Helix, they took off to the latest site where the new mutants had been taken. Landing, they all got out and began to search the area.

   "Why don't we pair up and spread out," Brennan suggested. "We'll be able to cover more ground and find out more information quicker."

   "Ok," Jesse replied. "Why don't you and Shalimar go check out the other site where the victims have been taken from while Emma and I check this place out?"

   Brennan nodded. "Does that sound good to you two?" he asked Emma and Shalimar.

   Both the girls nodded.

   "Ok. Well, we'll see you guys later," Brennan said as he and Shalimar headed to the other site.

   Once they arrive, they immediately began to check everything out. 

   Walking down an alley, Brennan suddenly felt Shalimar stiffen beside him. "What is it, Shal?" he asked as he scanned the surrounding area.

   "Someone's watching us. I can feel it," she replied and just as the words were out of her mouth, they were surrounded by about fifteen men.

   Brennan frowned and then looked over at Shalimar. "Why does this always happen to us?"

   "You got me," she replied with a shrug.

   "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" one of the men said as he stepped forward.

   Brennan raised an eyebrow in question. "You know, maybe you could tell us that because my friend and I were just having a nice little walk and then you guys showed up," he stated.

   "Yeah, sure you were," the man replied. "Now, why don't you two come with us peacefully and neither of you will get hurt."

   Shalimar gave him her best 'eat shit and die' look. "How about you all run along and none of _you will get hurt," she suggested as she flashed her feral eyes._

   "Yeah," Brennan agreed as he created as ball of electricity in each hand.

   The man smiled and turned to look at his men. "It looks like we've got a feral and an elemental on our hands." Looking back at Shalimar and Brennan, his smile disappeared and a frown replaced it. "You two will sell nicely." With that, all the men started closing in on the two Mutant X members.

   Shalimar quickly took a fighting stance while Brennan set his two balls of electricity flying into two of the men, knocking the out immediately.

   As three men approached Shalimar, she launched herself into a flip over their heads and landed behind them. When they turned around to face her, she landed one quick roundhouse kick to all of them and knocked them all down. Quickly glancing over to see that Brennan was doing ok, she turned to the leader and started walking toward him. 

   Just then, two men stepped in front of the leader.

   He smiled, saying, "You see, I also have a feral and an elemental on my side." As he said that, the man on the right flashed his feral eyes while the man on his right brought his hands together to create something that stopped Shalimar dead in her tracks. It was fire.

   The leader smiled at her reaction. "Yes, you see, the difference between you elemental friend and mine, is that mine is a fire elemental…and we all know how much feral's hate fire," he sneered.

   Shalimar was so frozen with fear that she didn't even notice the two men that were creeping up behind her. It was then that Brennan suddenly shouted, "SHALIMAR!! LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!!"

   Snapping out of her daze, she turned just in time to block one of the men's punches that was aimed at her head, but in doing so she left herself wide open for the other man's attack. Seeing his opportunity, he swung a metal pipe that he had found towards Shalimar's exposed side and when it connected, he grinned as he heard the satisfying crack of her ribs breaking.

   Screaming out in pain, Shalimar immediately grasped her ribs and dropped to her knees in agony.

   Brennan saw it happen and quickly started running toward her, but so blinded by his need to protect Shalimar, he didn't even notice the man coming up behind him with piece of wood. The last thing Brennan remembered before everything went black was him calling out to Shalimar and seeing her look at him with a pain-filled expression on her face.

**MX-MX-MX**

   Groaning, Brennan slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He seemed to be in a cell of some sort. Sitting up, he grabbed his head as a wave of pain coursed through it. Just then, he heard some soft whimpering coming from behind him. Slowly turning around, he saw Shalimar lying in the far corner with her back to him. His pain forgotten, he immediately rushed over to her.

   "Shal, are you ok?" he asked as he carefully rolled her onto her back.

   She looked up at him with pain etched across her face and then shook her head. "My ribs…are…are killing me…and I..I can't breathe," she whimpered between strained breaths.

   Brennan's eyes grew wide with concern. "Oh God," he said as he gently lifted Shalimar's head and placed it into his lap. "We have to get you out of here."

   "Yeah…no kidding. We have to…do it soon…be-…because I'm not sure…how…long I'm going to…last," she got out slowly, her breathing becoming more labored.

   "Don't talk like that, Shalimar. You're going to be fine," he told her as tears began to well up in his eyes. _I can't lose her now, he thought to himself. __Not when I just figured out that I'm in love with her. It was at that moment that he realized that he hadn't told Shalimar that he loved her yet. Looking back down at Shalimar, he noticed that her eyes were closing and her labored breathing was beginning to slow._

   "Shalimar, don't close you eyes!" he ordered, but it did nothing. Shalimar kept her eyes closed. "Dammit!! SHALIMAR FOX, OPEN YOUR EYES NOW!!!" he yelled and thankfully this time she did.

   "Can't…hold on…much longer," she whispered as her breathing continued to slow.

   "You have to, Shalimar! I can't lose you. Not now…Not ever! I love you!!" he confessed as much to his surprise as to hers.

   "You do?"

   "Yes Shalimar. I love you with all my heart and not being with you is driving me crazy," he said. "And if you die, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm not sure if I'd be able to live with myself if you were gone."

   Tears began to well up in both their eyes.

   "I…I love you…too…Brennan," Shalimar declared with a small smile.

TO BE CONTINUED!

(A/N: Hehehe! What can I say? I'm a sucker for Shal/Bren sappiness!!! Well, PLEASE tell me what you think!! REVIEW!!))


	3. The Rescue

Title: How Much is that Mutant in the Window?

Author: Sarge

E-Mail: Shalimarfox2@aol.com

**MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX  **

 "What are we going to do, Adam?" Emma asked as she watched him pace. She and Jesse had returned to sanctuary after they lost contact with Shalimar and Brennan.

   "I don't know," he replied as he let out an exasperated sigh.

   Just then, Jesse came running into the lab. "I know where they are!" he exclaimed with a smile.

   "How?" Emma asked.

   "Well, whoever took them, didn't take their comlinks and I tracked their signal," he explained.

   "What are we waiting here for then?" Emma questioned as she turned to Adam. "Can we go after them?"

   "It might be a trap," he stated with a frown.

   "Well, with their comlinks still on and all, why don't we ask them?" Jesse said.

   Both Emma and Adam looked over at him with 'Oh yeah! Duh!!' looks on their faces.

   "Brennan? Shalimar?" Adam called.

   After a few seconds, there was an answer.

   "Adam?" It was Brennan.

   "Oh thank God! Are you two ok?" Adam asked.

   "Not really," was his reply. "Shalimar's broken some ribs and I think one of them is resting up against her lung or something because she says she can't breath."

   "Dammit. Ok, well we're coming to get you out there. So, stay put," Adam said as he, Jesse, and Emma headed out of the lab.

   "No Adam…Brennan and I…are going…to run…away," Shalimar suddenly quipped between breaths.

   Adam, Emma, and Jesse looked at each other with worry written across their faces. They had to get Shalimar out of there very soon or she wasn't going to make it.

   "Well, try not to run away until we get there, ok Shal?" Emma asked as she and the two guys got into the Double Helix.

   "Yeah sure," was her reply.

**MX-MX-MX**

   A little while later, Adam, Emma, and Jesse were hovering in the cloaked Double Helix over the building that Brennan and Shalimar were being held in.

   "Well, according to these scans," Adam began as he pointed to the scan of the interior of the building, "this place is pretty well guarded, but it's nothing like Genomex so we should be ok. Brennan and Shalimar are being held in one of the cells on the lower level. If we plan this out carefully, we should be able to get in, get Brennan and Shalimar, and then get out without anyone seeing us."

   "Let's do it then," Jesse said as Emma nodded in agreement.

   "Ok, this is what we'll do…" Adam started as he began to explain what they would do.

   Soon, they had their plan. Landing the Double Helix on the roof of the building, they all got out and quietly made their way inside.

**MX-MX-MX**

**   As Brennan sat with Shalimar's head in his lap, he noticed that her breathing was becoming even more labored. Now it had sort of a wheeze to it.**

   "Just hold on a little longer, Shal. We'll be rescued really soon. I know it," he said as he gently brushed an errant strand of hair off of her forehead. Just as the words were out of his mouth, the cell door swung open and there stood the other three members of Mutant X. "Nice of you to join us," Brennan quipped.

   Adam immediately rushed over to Shalimar and kneeled down beside her. "Hey Shalimar, you ok?" he asked.

   "Yeah," she managed to choke out.

   "Alright, well we're going to get you out of here, ok?"

   She merely nodded this time.

   Adam looked up at Brennan, asking, "What about you? Are you ok?"

   "Yeah, I'm fine. I just want to get out of here," he replied.

   "Well, that's what we're here to do. Now, do you think you can carry Shalimar?"

   Brennan nodded. "Yeah, I got her."

   "Ok, let's go then," Adam said as he stood up.

   Carefully slipping on arm underneath Shalimar's knees and the other underneath her shoulders, Brennan picked her up and then stood. 

   "We need to go now!" Jesse whispered from where he was standing by the door. "The guards will be around any minute now."

   "Ok, let's go," Adam replied as he and Brennan followed Emma and Jesse out of the cell. Climbing up several flights of stairs, they got to the top story when suddenly they were stopped by five guards.

   "Where do you think you're going?" one of them snarled.

   "Um…we're leaving," Jesse quipped although his face was cold.

   "I don't think so," the man replied.

   "Oh, but we do," Adam said as his eyes narrowed.

   "Get them!!" the man shouted to the other men as they all charged Mutant X.

   Even without the help of Brennan and Shalimar, who Adam had ordered to stay back, the remaining three members took down the men in a matter of moments. It didn't even seem like a fair fight. Emma kept using her telempathy to confuse the men while Jesse and Adam knocked them out.

   "Nice work. Now, can we please get out of here?" Brennan asked urgently. "Shalimar passed out and I'm not sure how much longer she's going to be able to hold on."

   "Yeah, let's go," Adam replied. "The Double Helix is on the roof."

   Quickly making their way down the hallway, they found the door that lead to the roof. Opening the door, they all went up the steps and ran out to the Double Helix. 

   Once inside, Brennan gently placed Shalimar down on a bed on the lower deck while Jesse ran up the stairs and started the engines. Knowing that it would be too crowded with four of them on the lower deck, Emma cast Shalimar a worried glance before she headed up the stairs to where Jesse was. As Adam was closing the door, Brennan suddenly noticed something that made his heart skip a beat.

   "Oh God! Adam, Shalimar's stopped breathing!!!" Brennan exclaimed as he felt her neck for a pulse. Not finding one, he immediately yelled, "And she doesn't have a pulse either!!"

   Adam quickly ran over and began checking her out. "Dammit!! It will take too long to charge the defibrillator. I need you to use you electricity to shock her heart. Ok? Can you do that?!"

   Brennan nodded and then stretched his hand out above her chest. Creating a small electrical charge between his fingers, he released it into her, causing her body to jump.

   "Still nothing. Try it again!" Adam ordered.

   Brennan repeated it again and as the electrical pulse coursed through her heart, Shalimar suddenly gasped for breath and her eyes shot open.

   "You did it! It worked!" Adam exclaimed with a grin.  Then looking down at Shalimar, he said, "Shalimar, you have to stay with us. We're almost back to sanctuary. Just hang on."

   She gave him a weak nod.

TO BE CONTINUED! 

(A/N: MUAHAHAHA!!! Don't you just love cliffhangers…even if this isn't really one? Yes, I am evil. This is a fact I am well aware of, but thank you, _Scifi****__Critic, for pointing that out! LOL!!! **I would like to dedicate this lovely story to Shannon and Pam. They are the two people who have been bugging me endlessly to write more and finally I have. YOU GUYS RULE!! Thanks!! Oh, remember to REVIEW!!! THANK YOU!!!)**_


	4. Traumatic Pneumothorax

Title: How Much is that Mutant in the Window?

Author: Sarge

E-Mail: Shalimarfox2@aol.com

**MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX**

   A few minutes later, they made it back to sanctuary and they rushed Shalimar to the lab. 

   Hitting the scan button on the computer, the rest of the team stood back as the light from the scanner slowly flew over Shalimar body. When it was done, Adam went turned around to read the results. 

   "Dammit!" he muttered.

   "What's wrong, Adam?" Brennan asked as he moved over next to Shalimar and took her hand in his.

   "She has traumatic pneumothorax along with hemothorax," he said.

   "Which is?" Brennan questioned with a frown.

   Adam immediately snapped into 'scientific' mode. "Traumatic pneumothorax is when air and gases build up between the lung and chest wall causing the lung collapse. It's usually the result of a blunt or penetrating chest injury. In Shalimar's case, one of her broken ribs has punctured her lung causing this to happen. Now, hemothorax is when, along with the air and gases, blood starts to build up between the lung and chest wall as well," he explained.

   "Well, what are we going to do?" Emma asked as tears began to well up in her eyes.

   "Yeah Adam…what are…you …going to do?" Shalimar asked as her breathing became more rapid.

   "First off, Shalimar you're not going to talk. You need to concentrate on breathing," Adam said. "Secondly, I'm going to need to drain the blood, air, and gases from the pleural space…or in between the lung and inner chest wall. Now, I'm not going to be able to do it using the machines for most of this procedure and I can't really put you under anesthesia because that will slow your breathing and right now, you need all the oxygen you can get. I can give you a localized anesthetic, but that's it."  

   "Whatever Adam…Just fix…me," she replied.

   Adam nodded and then turned back to the computer. After programming the laser to where he wanted the incision, he turned back to Shalimar and gave her a localized anesthetic.

   "This won't really do much, but it will help a little with the pain," he said.

   Shalimar nodded. "Do it."

   With that, Adam pressed the button on the computer, starting the laser.

   Shalimar's face contorted with pain as it began to slice through her skin.

   Emma started crying and not being able to watch, turned away. 

   Seeing this, Jesse immediately pulled Emma into his arms and held her as he continued to watch the procedure.

   "Adam…stop the…laser," Shalimar whimpered as her grip tightened on Brennan's hand.

   "Just hold on a few more seconds. It's almost there," he told her.

   Just as he said, a few seconds later, the laser reached its destination and automatically turned off.

   "Now what?" Brennan asked as he looked up at Adam.

   "Now I have to insert a tube to drain everything out," he replied as he picked up a long tube that was sitting on the counter next to the computer. "Ok, here it goes," he said as he slowly started to insert the tube into the incision that the laser had made.

   Shalimar gasped in pain and squeezed her eyes shut.

   Brennan immediately put his other hand over Shalimar's and gave it a comforting squeeze.

   "Alright, the tube is in," Adam announced as he grabbed a small electrical pump and placed it on the end of the tube. "Now, I'm going to use this pump to suck out everything," he explained as he pushed the button; starting the pump.

   After everything was drained, Shalimar seemed to be breathing a little more easily, but she still had a broken rib piercing her lung.

   "Does that feel any better?" Adam asked her.

   Shalimar nodded.

   "Good. Now, the next thing I need to do it make another incision so that I can remove your rib from your lung. Then I have to heal your lung and all your broken ribs," he explained.

   "Sounds fun," Shalimar quipped quietly.

   Adam gave her a small smile before he turned back to the computer and programmed the laser again. Then he gave her some more localized anesthetic and started the laser.

   Once again, Shalimar tightened her grip on Brennan and let out a sharp gasp.

   When the laser completed its task, it turned off.

   After putting on sterile gloves, Adam moved over beside Shalimar, saying, "Ok, now I have to put my hand inside and pull the rib back. It going to hurt a lot, but now that I've removed all the air, gases, and blood that were keeping you from expanding your lung, I can give you something for the pain."

   She nodded again. "Yeah…that'd be nice."

   "Ok," Adam said as he picked up a pain-numbing agent and injected in into Shalimar's arm.

   Once she was sufficiently numb, Adam slowly reached into the incision and with a sickening crack, pulled the broken rib out of Shalimar's lung. 

   This caused Shalimar to start coughing violently and while her lung was now filling to its normal capacity, pulling the rib out had caused the wound to start bleeding heavily. Shalimar immediately raised her free hand to her mouth to minimize her coughing, but suddenly pulled her hand back and looking down at it in horror, she noticed that it was covered in blood.

   Alarmed, Brennan looked over at Adam, asking, "Adam, what's going on. She's coughing up blood!" It was then that he noticed that there was a lot of blood coming out of the incision that Adam had made with the laser. 

   "When I pulled the rib out of her lung, it started bleeding more heavily. Don't worry, I can fix it," Adam replied as he picked up a pen-shaped device that was on the counter and then turning it on, he inserted it into the incision. 

   As the second went by, Shalimar could feel the wound in her lung healing.

   Then Adam pulled his hand and the device back, saying, "Ok, the puncture wound in your lung is healed. Now, we just have to fix your ribs and close you up. Then you'll be all done," he stated, trying to cheer Shalimar up.

   "Just get it done," she said.

   Adam nodded and went back to healing her ribs. When he was done with them, he closed up both incisions. 

   "Ok, you're all done," he declared with a grin.

   "Great. Now, we need to go back to that building and kick some ass," she said as she started to sit up.

   "Oh no you don't!" Adam exclaimed as he pushed her back down. "You are doing nothing but getting some rest. You've just been through a very traumatic experience and you're not completely healed. I mean, you're relatively healed, but your bone integrity and lung is still very weak. So, you need to rest. You're going to be very sore for about a week and we still don't know if there will be any complications to your injuries."

   "Complications? Like what?" Brennan asked.

   "There's a chance she could get an infection in her lung…maybe pneumonia. Something like that. All I can really do is give her antibiotics, but there's till no telling if that will work," Adam replied.

   "Adam, I'll be fine," Shalimar argued.

   Adam opened his mouth to reply, but Emma beat him to it. "Shalimar, please just listen to Adam. Get some rest. If not for you, than for us," she said.

   Glancing over, Shalimar noticed the tears that were still running down Emma's face and that while Emma facing her, Jesse still had his arms around her waist to comfort her. Than she looked up at Brennan to see that he had a look of worry etched across his handsome features. "Ok, fine," she finally replied.

   Brennan gave her hand another gentle squeeze while Adam, Emma, and Jesse merely smiled.

   "Good. Now, you can either rest in here or I suppose you could go to your room…as long as someone stays with you," Adam told her.

   "I'll stay with her, Adam," Brennan declared before anyone else could open their mouths.

   Adam grinned, "Alright. Make sure that she does rest and that she doesn't do anything too strenuous."

   "I got it," he said as he bent down and scooped Shalimar up in his arms.

   "Brennan, I can walk on my own!" Shalimar insisted.

   "Shalimar, when I said strenuous, I meant walking as well. You just have had surgery and you need to do as little as possible. Now, be quiet and let Brennan carry you," Adam ordered in a very fatherly tone.

   Shalimar frowned. "Fine," she huffed.

   Brennan smiled at Adam and then walked out of the lab carrying Shalimar.

TO BE CONTINUED!

(So, what do you think? Horrible, huh? I'll have you know that I took quite some time researching the whole traumatic pneumothorax thing so I hope you like it!! TELL ME IF YOU DO!! **REVIEW!!!!)**


	5. Together Forever

Title: How Much is that Mutant in the Window?

Author: Sarge

E-Mail: Shalimarfox2@aol.com

** MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX-MX**

  Walking into Shalimar's room, Brennan gently placed her down on her bed and stepped back.

   Shalimar looked down at herself to see that she was still covered in blood from where her punctured lung had bleed when Adam removed the rib. "Um…do you think it would be possible for me to take a shower?" she asked Brennan sort of sheepishly.

   Brennan looked uncertain. "I don't know, Shal. That would take some effort on your part and unless you want me in there with you, I don't think it's a good idea."

   Shalimar's head immediately shot up when Brennan mentioned being in the bathroom with her when she took a shower and then she blushed a deep red.

   Seeing this, Brennan quickly brought his hands up in surrender. "I…I didn't mean it…like that," he stammered. 

   Shalimar started giggling softly. "I know. I just don't like lying here covered in blood."

   "Well, maybe…I could…um…uh…get a sponge and um… some water for you to…bathe…with," he stuttered awkwardly. 

   Shalimar smiled. "Yeah, that would be great," she replied.

   Brennan looked like he was about to pass out. Just the thought of being in the same room with Shalimar while she took a shower, or even sponge bathed herself, made his knees feel weak. Gulping, he pointed toward the door and backed up, saying, "I'll go get the stuff then."

   Shalimar grinned again. "Ok, I'll be right here," she said.

   When he returned, Brennan walked over to Shalimar and handed her the bowl of water with sponge sitting in it. He had also brought a towel which he set down on the bed next to her.

   Wincing at the pain that shot up her chest and side, Shalimar managed to push herself up into a semi-sitting position. Adam had been right. She was very sore. She guessed it was because the numbing agent had worn off. Reaching in the bowel, she rung out the sponge and then started to wipe away the blood. Although, she was having a hard time doing it. Every time she'd lift her arm to wipe the blood away, she would slip back down in her bed and then she'd have to painfully push herself back up again.

   After about the fourth time she slipped down, Brennan let out an exasperated huff and then grabbed the sponge from her. "Let me do it," he said as he kneeled down beside her bed and began to gently wipe the blood off of her skin.

   Shalimar just sat there and watched as Brennan concentrated on carefully removing the blood. "You know, I wanted to talk to you about what we both said earlier…when we were in the cell," she stated almost shyly.

   Brennan looked up at her and gazed into her eyes. "Yeah, I wanted to talk about that too," he replied, but when Shalimar didn't say anything else, he smiled and asked, "Do you want me to go first?"

   Shalimar nodded and watched as Brennan put the bowl of water on the floor.

   Taking a deep breath and releasing it, he began. "Shalimar, I've always felt attracted to you, but I thought that it was just because you're so incredibly hot," Shalimar blushed. "and even if I did have feelings for you, you wouldn't feel the same way. But then when you said that you went for guys like me, I…well, I don't really know. I just couldn't stop thinking about you and then I realized that…well, that I'm in love with you." 

   Shalimar smiled. "That's so sweet, Brennan and to tell you the truth, it's pretty much been the same way for me. I've always been attracted to you and I recently figured out that I'm in love with you too," she confessed.

   Brennan didn't wait another second. He leaned forward and gently brushed his lips against Shalimar's in a tender kiss. 

   After a few seconds, Shalimar reached her hand behind Brennan's head and pulled him into a much more passionate kiss.

   Breaking apart for air, they both smile at each other.

   Lifting his hand to her face, Brennan gently brushed an errant strand of blonde hair out of Shalimar's eyes before he let his hand drop slightly, coming to rest on her cheek. Caressing her soft skin lightly with his thumb, he smiled, saying, "God, I love you Shalimar."

   "I love you too," she replied. "And I want you to stay with me forever starting now," she said as she patted the bed beside her.

   After he had taken off his shoes and jacket, Brennan immediately climbed into the bed next to Shalimar and pulled her into his arms. Then they both laid down and snuggled in closer to each other. "I want to stay with you forever too," he whispered as kissed her on top of the head.

   Soon they were both fast asleep.

TO BE CONTINUED!

(A/N: Ok, I know that was REALLY short, but isn't it better than nothing at all? Well, I hope you liked it! **PLEASE REVIEW!)**


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